Second Chance
by Cherie-24-Addict
Summary: When a CSI is shot during a stressful situation, it spawns the chance that two members of the team can confront the confusion and awkwardness surrounding their recent lack of closeness.  Calleigh-centric, strong EC, slight RN. Part 7 of Quinceanera series


**A/N: I might shoot someone (a Miami writer) if Eric and Calleigh aren't together again soon! Urgh!**

**Anyway, this is part 7 of 15 in the Quinceanera series for my friend Cat. (Sorry about the delay.)**

**R this is my first EC story, and I wrote this in kind of a hurry, so I'd like to know how I did.**

_I'm in a dark space. No walls, no fixtures of any kind. I'm completely alone. In the distance, a light winks. On, off, on, off, on, off. I look around for the sound, frantically, neurotically. I can't find it, and it irks me to no end that I'm a criminal investigator and yet considerably disoriented. I tug on my hair to keep it from puffing up – said hair gets annoying as hell when it does that. There's a reason that Miami summers bother me – whose idea was it to crank the damn humidity so high?_

_I pat at my holster to see if I have my Sig with me in this place. It's a pleasant surprise when I realize that I do. Despite the fact that there's not much light to go by, I clear the area in front of me and slowly feel my way forward._

_Out of nowhere, I'm actually in a recognizable place again. As I walk the hallways of the crime lab, I see through transparent doors. It's a funny feeling, though, because everything feels almost as if it's moving in slow motion. No one is in the hallway, except for me._

_Okay, screw that. No one except for me and three big, muscle-y guys with AK-47s._

"_MDPD!" I say, trying to keep my voice from shaking. "Drop your weapons!"_

_They simply laugh in my face. God, the nerve of some people…_

"_Give us a break," one of them sneers. I bite my lip in order to resist the urge to shoot at their most valuable parts and remain professional_

"_If you do not drop your weapon," I say in a louder voice, "I will have no choice but to use deadly force."_

"_You think you can take down all three of us," the leader smirks. "Good one."_

_I aim my weapon and thank whatever God there is for the fact that I decided to wear my bulletproof vest into the building on hearing about the crime lab hostage situation. God, I didn't see Eric outside. What if…?_

_No. God, no. I can't let myself think about that. I just have to do my job, and everything will be okay._

_Suddenly, I'm overtaken by a sharp wave of pain. My left shoulder is one source; my stomach the other. I fall to the ground and hear three precise gunshots. Then, he runs to my side, trying to put pressure on both of my wounds._

"_Come on, Calleigh, come on! Why did you have to disobey H's order? Stay outside the building, that was all that he asked, and you come in here and try to get yourself killed? Come on, talk to me. Talk to me, Cal." He pauses, trying to catch his breath_

_I try to catch mine, too; getting shot is really a bitch. "Eric…"_

_His face instantly softens. "Calleigh," he says, the relief evident in his voice._

_"Eric…" I drift off. As I sink into darkness, I can't find the strength to say what I wanted to say to him._

_I love you. Don't let me slip away, both literally and proverbially._

_Ouch. Waves of pain are getting steadier…_

_"Damn it, Calleigh…"_

Suddenly, my eyes open, and I survey where I am. Of course, I'm in the Intensive Care Unit, and there's a nice plastic tube stuck down my throat. My knowledge of the hospital's procedures doesn't do anything for my gag reflex; I'm still coughing and fighting against it. I can't breathe, God, I can't breathe…

"Calleigh!"

I smile despite the tube in my throat. I would know that voice, that dark soothing voice, anywhere. What's truly amazing is the fact that he's actually here, despite everything I've done to him.

"Ack…" I sit up and try to say his name, to no avail.

"Shhh," he says gently, massaging my shoulder. You're going to be okay. You were shot, remember?"

I nod my head faintly. God, it's so hard to breathe…

"The doctors gave you oxygen," he continues. "I paged the doctor. She'll be here any moment to take it out."

I manage to give him the barest hint of a smile.

"Alexx?" I choke.

He nods. "Don't say anything," he says. "We don't want you straining yourself."

It's at that moment that Dr. Woods herself jogs into the lab.

"Okay, baby girl, we're gonna get that out. You're gonna have to cough for me, okay?"

I nod and summon the strength to do so. I don't have much of that, though; almost nothing happens. I squeeze Eric's hand, and he squeezes back just as tightly. Funny, I don't remember grabbing his hand.

"Okay, Calleigh, you're gonna need to try a little harder," Alexx says soothingly. "Cough one more time."

I breathe in and repeat the action. Nothing. It's honestly a very scary thought that I might not be able to get this tube out.

"Cal."

I turn to Eric, questions burning in my eyes.

"Hey. If I could survive a gunshot to the head, you can sure as hell do this." He chuckles, a little nervously. I summon up all the strength I have…and promptly punch him in the gut. To cheer me up, he gives a little shout and pretends like I actually managed to hurt him.

"Okay, all jokes aside, you need to get this tube out, now!" Alexx says in a very demanding voice.

Urgh. I inhale and hack out the world's most forceful cough. Lucky for me, the breathing tube goes with it. I take the breathing mask and lay back against the bed. In, out, in out, in, out. Eric squeezes my hand again, and I close my eyes as warmth flows through my veins.

I don't know how much time has passed when I wake up again. Everything is silent, except for...well. He's still there, sitting by my side intently, and though he doesn't say anything, his eyes won't shut up. Before he notices I'm awake, I close my eyes again. He needs time to say what he wants to say.

"Calleigh…" The way he breathes my name makes my entire body tingle. The little chuckle confirms that he's noticed the extra blood pumping in my hand. "I don't know if that was any indication, but I think maybe you still feel something. I don't know what I did, don't know what I didn't do. Though I said it once, I'll say it again. I can't live without you, Cal. I'm stuck, and I don't know where I should be going… I need you with me. I don't know what caused you to run back into the lab like you did, but I was on edge from the moment you were gone till the moment you woke up. Please don't shut me out, Cal. I know you're awake."

Damn. He probably heard me hold my breath. First rule of faking sleep: always keep your breath even, never hold it. My eyelids blink rapidly as I adjust to the light and stare into his chocolate eyes. Cheesy enough, they make me melt.

"Eric…" I breathe.

"If you're going to shut me out again, at least give me a reason why," he says, his voice cracking with anguish.

I lean up and press my lips against his. He pulls away, and I'm surprised at how angry he looks.

"Calleigh, don't do this to me," he pleads.

"None," I whisper as I come to the realization.

He blinks, and then his forehead crinkles in confusion. "What?"

"There's no good reason for why I did what I did," I say, trying to keep my wits about me. "I was… terrified. You nearly died saving me. I haven't forgotten that. It's so much easier…" Here, my voice cracks. "It's so much easier to pretend you're just family than to face reality. There's been too much of that lately."

I'm not done, and he knows it. I've gotten his attention now, and he waits more patiently than before for me to finish.

"It was cruel, so cruel, for me to say that I love you like family," I sob quietly, a tear speeding down my cheek and neck. "Men come and go quickly. My family has, too. CSI is my family, but… God, Eric, I love you, and I must still have had some of that nerve gas floating around my brain because I can't even think of a solid reason besides my own fear and desperation to…

"Mmm."

There's so much to do, so much to figure out. I thought it would take so much time. I think it really only took a minute. I broke him a little, and it'll take time for both of us to heal. Time for my physical wounds to go away, time for his mental ones to fade. But at the core, we can't really live without each other. We never have been able to, I suppose.

As we break away, I hear the ever-familiar hoots and whistles of Ryan and Natalia, the peas in a pod. She nudges his shoulder with her head and promptly holds out her hand. He slaps down three twenties, and she laughs as he smiles, probably at more than just my reunion with Eric. Surprisingly enough, I couldn't care less about any betting pools today.

Tom and Walter smile, too, and Tripp turns away to brush a tear out of his manly eyes. H stands at the fringe of the scene, as usual, and I tap Eric, gesturing towards the redhead. He looks at us and nods, the tiniest corner of a grin on his face.

Eric kisses me on the forehead, then moves toward the door.

"Where are you going?" I ask, love and loneliness written plainly on my forehead.

"Don't worry, Cal," he says, smiling that irresistible, perfect, crooked, completely kissable grin that I know and love. "I'll be back."

He walks out, and a resounding, "I promise," echoes in the room.

**A/N: Virtual brownies are earned when you review!**


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